The Joshua Victor Theory

  Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Back in January I compared the size of the “Sea” of Galilee to our island of Maui. I estimate it would stretch roughly lengthwise from the base of West Maui mountains up to Makawao, and from Kahului Harbor to Maalaea Harbor—13 miles by 8 miles. Small, but big enough to get caught in a storm. Especially if you imagine crossing that distance on a small fishing boat against a driving wind, when you’re exhausted after rowing till 3-4 AM in the darkness. It was no joke. Today in the Gospel, we’re back at the Sea of Galilee for another of Jesus’ miracles, showing that He is God who rules over the storms. You know how weathermen describe the “eye” of a hurricane? In the center of a massive spinning storm with high-speed winds circling for hundreds of miles, there’s a small pocket of calm. The “eye” of the storm. While no hurricanes hit the tiny Sea of Galilee, sudden windstorms from the...

Sermon Outline Judica Sunday—Introit: Vindicate me against the ungodly, deceitful, and unjust. Ironically, the most truthful and only innocent man (Jesus) also needs vindication. Truth and uprightness don’t stop slander from coming against the innocent. Jesus also appeals to God as Judge…was He promoting His own glory, or God’s? Telling the truth? Unjust accusations against Him. “God, be Judge!” “The words of God” and “truth” interchangeable here. Dividing line—two sides of humanity—hear and believe vs. don’t hear and don’t believe. Keep vs. reject. Believe and have life vs. hate Jesus, seek His death. Jesus’ words and bold confrontation make it impossible to remain undecided as to who He is. Fall down on the side of Truth or error. Cannot long waver between two opinions. On the side of error: can’t bear His Word, follow the devil’s lying and murderous desires, enraged by His teaching. These were supposedly religious...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Unbelief is really the chief and greatest sin of all, and the hardest sin to overcome. When we think of what the worst sin might be, our mind rarely lands on unbelief—but unbelief is really the sin against the first commandment. God says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Believing in God is the first and most important command. Unbelief shows itself in a variety of symptoms, ranging from outright rejection or anger toward God, to making substitute gods or idols, to take the place of the One True God, or hardness of heart and distrust. The last one, hardness of heart, is the core problem in today’s reading. What does the Bible say about hardness of heart? Frequently in the Old Testament, this is described as a sin that is common to rulers and kings. Pharaohs, Kings of Israel, and Kings of Babylon all suffered from this sin. They became proud in their spirit, stubborn and ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today’s Gospel reading from John describes the end of a lengthy and heated exchange between Jesus and the Jews. They were claiming Abraham as their ancestor, and God as their Father, but Jesus had some very pointed words for them. Because they did not accept His teaching and message, it showed that they were NOT the children of Abraham or of God, because they rejected the one whom God had sent, and the one whom Abraham looked forward to in faith. Look closely today at the line of questioning they raise to Jesus, and how He ultimately proclaims to them that He is greater than Abraham, greater even than death. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. As anyone who knows me well can attest, I love asking, answering, and discussing lots of questions on all kinds of topics. I guess I was born with an inquisitive nature. In the course of teaching, either in sch...